Broken warrior
by dreamingofgallifrey
Summary: Thalia can't take it anymore. The only reason for staying behind was her brother...and now he was gone.  Thalia's memories of Jason grace, her little brother.


I used to be a lone warrior, a fighter. I used to try and survive my pathetic excuse for a life rather than trying to outrun it.

But I couldn't take it, not one more second of the agony the monster had inflicted on me.

Oh not the physical pain, I could endure that because I had something to fight for. All it took was a little intelligence to avoid and a little toughness when it happened. What I'm talking about is the emotional pain.

It felt like I was being pulled into shreds, ripped and torn, plunged into acid. It was unendurable, unbearable.

I had to escape.

I had to run now.

I hurriedly stuffed my clothes, a raincoat, a purse full of money stolen from her and cans of soup, packets of biscuits as well as other things.

When the rucksack was bulging, I zipped it up and slid my arms through the straps. I put on my silver bracelet my father had gotten me. The only thing he'd left.

Some father. He was never around to help was he? Never around at all. If he had been, life would've been different, I knew it.

Then I checked the bedroom. Sure enough the monstrosity was in a dead sleep because of the alcohol she consumed last night.

I quietly padded downstairs, stuffed my pockets with various other items and taped a note to the fridge.

"Is 1 better than 2? Then maybe 0 is better than 1."

I opened the door and slipped outside. The cool night air was refreshing, like a soothing balm. I fled down the street.

There was no one to miss me. The only person that ever mattered was gone.

And so I had to look back, just once at the place I'd lost it all.

I promised myself, just once and then I'll never think about it again, I'll focus on the future.

But you can never leave the past behind.

When I didn't think about it, the memories came out in my dreams. I'd wake up silent tears a torrent across my cheeks. I let them fall, no one was around so what did it matter?

The pain never faded, the memories never left me. Whenever I closed my eyes I'd see his smiling face. And just for a moment, I could believe he was here standing in front of me.

I would open my eyes and sit and relive the memories.

_"Jason!" I shouted, running upstairs, "I'm back from school!"_

_He ran out of our room, smiling, his arms half outstretched for a hug. I picked him up and whirled him round and round while he shrieked with laughter. I set him down._

_"Were you ok?" I asked. _

_He nodded._

_"Are you hungry?" _

_"Yeah"_

_"Didn't you eat lunch?"_

_He shook his head._

_Anger welled up in the form of bitter tears, she'd been on the alcohol today. What sort of creature forgot to feed her own child? I shook my head and held the tears back._

_I took him downstairs and made sandwiches for both of us._

_I smiled as I watched him eat, we were alright the two of us._

The scene shifted.

_"What did she do?" I furiously asked the sobbing child in the blanket._

_"She said-she said I'm not meant to be here, she don't want me. She hit me. She hit me and hit me and I ran away."_

_I held Jason close until the sobs subsided. _

_"How dare she?" I hissed. The fury was building up inside me. I wanted to scream at her and make her a fraction of the pain Jason had felt. I knew that now I had to call the authorities or something. I knew there had to be something I could do. But I knew what she would do if she found out._

_Jason looked up at me with his blue eyes wide. He depended on me. He needed me._

_"Don't worry, it won't happen again." I promised._

_That was the last time I would ever go to school._

The centre of my world, the reason for enduring anything, was Jason.

But the monster got rid of him.

When I emerged from the destruction, two things were clear to me.

One, Jason was gone and there was nothing I could do.

Two, I had no reason whatsoever for staying here anymore.

There was no more reason to fight, no one to defend.

He was gone and all that was left was an empty girl.

A defeated cause.

A broken warrior.


End file.
